SoonerofAlabama
6/22/2011, 09:40 PM
From The Panama City News Herald
Don’t be alarmed by the rumble, that’s just the hype train coming from Norman, Okla., in front of the 2011 Oklahoma football team.
The Sooners are likely to start next season ranked in the Top 5 and they could challenge for the top spot in preseason polls. They were 12-2 last season, with its losses coming on Big 12 Conference play against Missouri and Texas A&M. The season also included an emphatic 47-17 beating of Florida State in Norman and the teams meet in the rematch Sept. 17 in Tallahassee.
Oklahoma returns with highly touted quarterback Landry Jones and wide receiver Ryan Broyles, who connected for 1,622 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. Defensively, the Sooners have more holes to fill, but return experience along the front-seven to produce a unit that could be formidable again.
Jones is the focal point for the offense and is another in a long line of potent throwers for the Sooners. And he may be one of the best of all time before he’s done.
He won the Sammy Baugh Award as a sophomore as the nation’s top passer with a conference-leading 4,718 yards, two yards short of Sam Bradford’s season record, to go along with 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Jones has thrown 13 300-yard games, one short of the school mark, and holds the record with four 400-yard games.
It helps to have Broyles back in the fold, as the rising senior sits atop the record books with 35 career TDs and close to 3,500 yards. He pulled in an astounding 131 receptions last season, which was good enough for eighth all-time among NCAA records. He will become the Big 12’s all-time leading catcher after this season if he stays healthy.
Those two pillars aren’t the only bright spots on OU’s offense, which also includes the return of wide receiver Kenny Stills, who was second on the team with 786 yards and an offensive line with four players back that made at least 10 starts last year.
Finding a new starting running back will be the key focus in fall practices. Demarco Murray left for the NFL and the Sooners will miss his 1,700 all-purpose yards and 20 TDs
Former Niceville product Roy Finch will be considered among those next in line. He had 398 yards on 85 carries after missing the first five games of the season and the bowl game due to injury. Brennan Clay, the team’s fourth-leading rusher, also will be in the mix as well as early enrollee Brandon Williams and fellow newcomer Danzel Williams.
The defense must contend with the loss of end Jeremy Beal, who had 8½ sacks and 19 of 72 tackles going for loss. Safeties Jonathan Nelson and Quinton Carter, Nos. 2 and 3 in tackles with a combined 198 stops and six interceptions, also have departed the Sooners’ program.
Returning linebacker Travis Lewis is the leader on defense with a team-high 109 tackles and three interceptions last season. He heads a linebacker corps that saw five different starters in the 4-3 scheme. Each player made at least five starts in 2010.
Defensive end Frank Alexander and tackle Stacy McGee, who combined for 20 starts, anchor the line. Cornerback Demontre Hurst is the veteran of the defensive backs with 50 tackles in 14 starts.
This, of course, will be FSU’s biggest test of the season after playing two pushover opponents in the first two weeks. The sting from last year’s loss will still be fresh, but don’t expect Jimbo Fisher to make a big deal out of it, as he is notorious for shifting the focus on the present rather than the past.
The game will carry national prominence, as both teams could be ranked in the Top 10. It may even be a Top 5 matchup, which will garner the attention of ESPN’s Gameday and nationwide media. It is the biggest game in Tallahassee in a decade.
FSU’s top returning players: QB EJ Manuel (861 yards, four touchdowns, four interceptions, 170 yards rushing), RB Chris Thompson (845 yards, six TDs), RB Ty Jones (527 yards, five TDs), RB Jermaine Thomas (490 yards, six TDs), WR Bert Reed (614 yards, two TDs), DB Greg Reid (65 tackles, three Ints, 1,056 total return yards, one punt return for TD), LB Nigel Bradham (98 tackles, five sacks), DE Brandon Jenkins (63 tackles, 21½ for loss, 13½ sacks), PK Dustin Hopkins (22-28 FGs, 55 long, made 12 of final 14 attempts, 53-53 extra points), OL Andrew Datko, OL Zebrie Sanders
Oklahoma’s top returning players: QB Landry Jones (4,718 yards, 38 TDs, 12 Ints), WR Ryan Broyles (1,622 yards on 131 receptions, 14 TDs, 268 punt return yards), WR Kenny Stills (786 yards, five TDs), TE James Hanna (292 yards, seven TDs), LB Travis Lewis (109 tackles, 1½ sacks, three interceptions), DE Frank Alexander (39 tackles, 13 for loss, seven sacks), DT Stacy McGee (26 tackles, 3½ for loss), CB Demontre Hurst (50 tackles, 11 passes defenses), PK Jimmy Stevens (19-23 FGs, 42 long, 53-52 extra points attempts), C Ben Habern, OG Tyler Evans
First-glance prediction: Last year’s game started as a shootout, but FSU couldn’t keep pace and Oklahoma ran away. This time, the winner likely will be the team with the ball last. That team, by a field goal, will be Oklahoma.
Thats one prediction. I can imagine it going down to the wire. We will find out.
Don’t be alarmed by the rumble, that’s just the hype train coming from Norman, Okla., in front of the 2011 Oklahoma football team.
The Sooners are likely to start next season ranked in the Top 5 and they could challenge for the top spot in preseason polls. They were 12-2 last season, with its losses coming on Big 12 Conference play against Missouri and Texas A&M. The season also included an emphatic 47-17 beating of Florida State in Norman and the teams meet in the rematch Sept. 17 in Tallahassee.
Oklahoma returns with highly touted quarterback Landry Jones and wide receiver Ryan Broyles, who connected for 1,622 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. Defensively, the Sooners have more holes to fill, but return experience along the front-seven to produce a unit that could be formidable again.
Jones is the focal point for the offense and is another in a long line of potent throwers for the Sooners. And he may be one of the best of all time before he’s done.
He won the Sammy Baugh Award as a sophomore as the nation’s top passer with a conference-leading 4,718 yards, two yards short of Sam Bradford’s season record, to go along with 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Jones has thrown 13 300-yard games, one short of the school mark, and holds the record with four 400-yard games.
It helps to have Broyles back in the fold, as the rising senior sits atop the record books with 35 career TDs and close to 3,500 yards. He pulled in an astounding 131 receptions last season, which was good enough for eighth all-time among NCAA records. He will become the Big 12’s all-time leading catcher after this season if he stays healthy.
Those two pillars aren’t the only bright spots on OU’s offense, which also includes the return of wide receiver Kenny Stills, who was second on the team with 786 yards and an offensive line with four players back that made at least 10 starts last year.
Finding a new starting running back will be the key focus in fall practices. Demarco Murray left for the NFL and the Sooners will miss his 1,700 all-purpose yards and 20 TDs
Former Niceville product Roy Finch will be considered among those next in line. He had 398 yards on 85 carries after missing the first five games of the season and the bowl game due to injury. Brennan Clay, the team’s fourth-leading rusher, also will be in the mix as well as early enrollee Brandon Williams and fellow newcomer Danzel Williams.
The defense must contend with the loss of end Jeremy Beal, who had 8½ sacks and 19 of 72 tackles going for loss. Safeties Jonathan Nelson and Quinton Carter, Nos. 2 and 3 in tackles with a combined 198 stops and six interceptions, also have departed the Sooners’ program.
Returning linebacker Travis Lewis is the leader on defense with a team-high 109 tackles and three interceptions last season. He heads a linebacker corps that saw five different starters in the 4-3 scheme. Each player made at least five starts in 2010.
Defensive end Frank Alexander and tackle Stacy McGee, who combined for 20 starts, anchor the line. Cornerback Demontre Hurst is the veteran of the defensive backs with 50 tackles in 14 starts.
This, of course, will be FSU’s biggest test of the season after playing two pushover opponents in the first two weeks. The sting from last year’s loss will still be fresh, but don’t expect Jimbo Fisher to make a big deal out of it, as he is notorious for shifting the focus on the present rather than the past.
The game will carry national prominence, as both teams could be ranked in the Top 10. It may even be a Top 5 matchup, which will garner the attention of ESPN’s Gameday and nationwide media. It is the biggest game in Tallahassee in a decade.
FSU’s top returning players: QB EJ Manuel (861 yards, four touchdowns, four interceptions, 170 yards rushing), RB Chris Thompson (845 yards, six TDs), RB Ty Jones (527 yards, five TDs), RB Jermaine Thomas (490 yards, six TDs), WR Bert Reed (614 yards, two TDs), DB Greg Reid (65 tackles, three Ints, 1,056 total return yards, one punt return for TD), LB Nigel Bradham (98 tackles, five sacks), DE Brandon Jenkins (63 tackles, 21½ for loss, 13½ sacks), PK Dustin Hopkins (22-28 FGs, 55 long, made 12 of final 14 attempts, 53-53 extra points), OL Andrew Datko, OL Zebrie Sanders
Oklahoma’s top returning players: QB Landry Jones (4,718 yards, 38 TDs, 12 Ints), WR Ryan Broyles (1,622 yards on 131 receptions, 14 TDs, 268 punt return yards), WR Kenny Stills (786 yards, five TDs), TE James Hanna (292 yards, seven TDs), LB Travis Lewis (109 tackles, 1½ sacks, three interceptions), DE Frank Alexander (39 tackles, 13 for loss, seven sacks), DT Stacy McGee (26 tackles, 3½ for loss), CB Demontre Hurst (50 tackles, 11 passes defenses), PK Jimmy Stevens (19-23 FGs, 42 long, 53-52 extra points attempts), C Ben Habern, OG Tyler Evans
First-glance prediction: Last year’s game started as a shootout, but FSU couldn’t keep pace and Oklahoma ran away. This time, the winner likely will be the team with the ball last. That team, by a field goal, will be Oklahoma.
Thats one prediction. I can imagine it going down to the wire. We will find out.